How To Paint – How To Draw

It is this second part that I have found difficulty in writing. And, to a large extent, it has been responsible for the recent lack of article updates. Each time I have put pen to paper it has left me feeling nervous.

Also, although it is an area of art that many artist like to work there are things that beginners, amateurs and experienced artists might need to be aware of.
For many artists figure work can be hard to grasp. Although they may be proficient working with landscapes, architecture and machinery animal and human form can be beyond their skills. Personally, even though i have had some success with working horses and occasional farm animals I have found this a problem.

Indeed, I have only ever attempted one nude study. In truth I was quite happy with the result but it left the model, my ex-wife, somewhat less than impressed with the usual kind of comments like…

Apart from not finding the correct answer, as was the norm, it was not necessarily a huge criticism about my art. Yet, it was sufficient to make me question the likelihood of success as a painter of nudes. What was needed was more practice. And it is more practice that is still required.

Fortunately there are plenty of courses that can teach you the basics of figure drawing in art classes online and at your local art club or art tutor. Unfortunately, if you find that life drawing classes are held when you are at work you are denied one of the vital elementswork – the naked model.

If you have some experience in art that involves the human body in its most natural form this leads to the next question…

Or, do you choose to walk up to a perfect stranger and ask them to get undressed in front of you and let you stare at them for an hour or two while you struggle to draw a few lines that vaguely look human?

What response do you think you’ll get? A cheery “Yes please, it’s what I always wanted to do!”

Maybe this is what you find. But, equally probable is a somewhat less favorable response that could result in the threat of or physical act of damage to your vital organs. This is potentially uncomfortable to say the least. And, if you get a negative response you could find that you have more than a few less friends than you previous had.

Using the internet to search for artist references might appear to be a great idea. Sadly, although there is a huge amount of incredibly valuable information and resources to help with drawing and painting the human nude there is one pitfall you may want to avoid.

if you aren’t exceedingly careful, while researching you are likely to discover the world of on-line pornography…

You might think search terms that include ‘Nude’, ‘Naked’, ‘Bare’, ‘Undressed’ and ‘Unclothed’ on their own seem innocent enough it…